Home of the RMR Ranch and the Horse Dome

©Wild Horse Foundation®

TEXAS STATUTES
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
TITLE 10. HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ANIMALS
CHAPTER 821. TREATMENT AND DISPOSITION OF ANIMALS
SUBCHAPTER A. TREATMENT OF ANIMALS

• s 821.001. Definition
• s 821.002. Treatment of Impounded Animals
• s 821.004. Knowledge or Acts of Corporate Agent or Employee
• s 821.021. Definition
• s 821.022. Seizure of Cruelly Treated Animal
• s 821.023. Hearing; Order of Sale or Return of Animal
• s 821.024. Sale or Disposition of Cruelly Treated Animal
• s 821.025. Appeal
• s 42.09. Cruelty to Animals

s 821.001. Definition

In this subchapter, "animal" includes every living dumb creature.

s 821.002. Treatment of Impounded Animals

1. A person who impounds or causes the impoundment of an animal under state law or municipal ordinance shall supply the animal with sufficient wholesome food and water during its confinement.
2. If an animal impounded under Subsection (a) continues to be without necessary food and water for more than 12 successive hours, any person may enter the pound or corral as often as necessary to supply the animal with necessary food and water. That person may recover the reasonable cost of the food and water from the owner of the animal. The animal is not exempt from levy and sale on execution of a judgment issued to recover those costs.

s 821.004. Knowledge or Acts of Corporate Agent or Employee

The knowledge and acts of an agent or employee of a corporation in regard to an animal transported, owned, or used by or in the custody of the corporation are the knowledge and acts of the corporation.

s 821.021. Definition

In this subchapter, "cruelly treated" includes tortured, seriously overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, or caused to fight with another animal.

s 821.022. Seizure of Cruelly Treated Animal

1. If a county sheriff, constable, or deputy constable or an officer who has responsibility for animal control in a municipality has reason to believe that an animal has been or is being cruelly treated, he may apply to a justice court in the county or to a municipal court in the municipality in which the animal is located for a warrant to seize the animal.
2. On a showing of probable cause to believe that the animal has been or is being cruelly treated, the court shall issue the warrant and set a time within 10 days of the date of issuance for a hearing in the court to determine whether the animal has been cruelly treated.
3. The officer executing the warrant shall cause the animal to be impounded and shall give written notice to the owner of the animal of the time and place of the hearing.

s 821.023. Hearing; Order of Sale or Return of Animal

1. A finding in county court that the owner of an animal is guilty of an offense under Section 42.09, Penal Code, involving the animal is prima facie evidence at a hearing authorized by Section 821.022 that the animal has been cruelly treated.
2. A statement of an owner made at a hearing provided for under this subchapter is not admissible in a trial of the owner for an offense under Section 42.09, Penal Code.
3. Each interested party is entitled to an opportunity to present evidence at the hearing.
4. Except as provided by Subsection (e), if the court finds that the animal's owner has cruelly treated the animal, the court shall: (1) order a public sale of the animal by auction; (2) order the animal given to a nonprofit animal shelter, pound, or society for the protection of animals; or (3) order the animal humanely destroyed if the court decides that the best interests of the animal or that the public health and safety would be served by doing so.
5. If the court finds that the animal's owner has cruelly treated the animal and that the animal is farm livestock, the owner shall be divested of ownership and the court shall order a public sale of the animal by auction, order the animal given to a nonprofit animal shelter, pound, or society for the protection of animals, or order the animal humanely destroyed if the court decides that the best interests of the animal or that the public health and safety would be served by doing so. In this subsection, "farm livestock" means cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, mules, horses, jacks, jennets, or poultry raised or used on a farm or ranch for food or for the production of legal income.
6. The court may order that an animal disposed of under Subsection (d)(1) or (d)(2) be spayed or neutered at the cost of the receiving party.
7. The court shall order the animal returned to the owner if the court does not find that the animal's owner has cruelly treated the animal.

s 821.024. Sale or Disposition of Cruelly Treated Animal

1. Notice of an auction ordered under this subchapter must be posted on a public bulletin board where other public notices are posted for the county or municipality. At the auction, a bid by the former owner of a cruelly treated animal or the owner's representative may not be accepted.
2. Proceeds from the sale of the animal shall be applied first to the expenses incurred in caring for the animal during impoundment and in conducting the auction. The officer conducting the auction shall pay any excess proceeds to the justice or municipal court ordering the auction. The court shall return the excess proceeds to the former owner of the animal.
3. If the officer is unable to sell the animal at auction, he may cause the animal to be destroyed or may give the animal to a nonprofit animal shelter, pound, or society for the protection of animals.

s 821.025. Appeal

1. An owner of an animal ordered sold at public auction as provided in this subchapter may appeal the order.
2. While an appeal under this section is pending, the animal may not be sold, destroyed, or given away as provided by Sections 821.022-821.024.

Top

PENAL CODE
TITLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY
CHAPTER 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES

s 42.09. Cruelty to Animals

1. A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
   1. tortures or seriously overworks an animal;
   2. fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, care, or shelter for an animal in his custody;
   3. abandons unreasonably an animal in his custody;
   4. transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;
   5. kills, injures, or administers poison to an animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's effective consent;
   6. causes one animal to fight with another;
   7. uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or
   8. trips a horse.
2. It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific research.
3. For purposes of this section:
   1. "Animal" means a domesticated living creature and wild living creature previously captured. "Animal" does not include an uncaptured wild creature or a wild creature whose capture was accomplished by conduct at issue under this section.
   2. "Trip" means to use an object to cause a horse to fall or lose its balance.
4. An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
5. It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(5) that the animal was discovered on the person's property in the act of or immediately after injuring or killing the person's goats, sheep, cattle, horses, swine, or poultry and that the person killed or injured the animal at the time of this discovery.
6. It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(8) that the actor tripped the horse for the purpose of identifying the ownership of the horse or giving veterinary care to the horse.

more Texas laws

Brand Laws in Texas

Equine Limited Liability Laws for Texas

Fencing Cutting

Horse Law: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

Land Occupier's Liability for Injuries on the Premises

Laws pertaining to EIA, transport of equines with EIA, testing, etc.

Livestock Laws - Fencing

Sale and Shipment of Livestock Laws

Sale of Horsemeat for Human Consumption

Stray Livestock

To Rescue a Starving Horse

Laws for Other States

Articles

New EIA Law

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release -- Don't Get Bucked Off By New Equine Law!

Planning to sell Ol' Paint? After September 1, Texas law will require that equine, including horses, donkeys, mules and asses, have a test for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), (also known as "Coggins" or "Swamp Fever") within 12 months before the animals undergo any change of ownership. The law exempts nursing foals changing ownership with their test-negative dams, and equine sold to slaughter. Persons who sell equine and fail to comply with the law, passed as House Bill 1732 in the 76th Texas Legislature, commit a Class "C" misdemeanor.

"Buying test-negative animals will reduce the chance of taking home an infected animal," said Dr. Terry Beals, executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock health regulatory agency. "It's a real shame to buy an untested horse, get home, and find out later that the animal is infected and has exposed your best horse to the disease."

EIA is a viral disease spread from an infected equine to a 'clean' equine by blood-to-blood contact. Biting flies can mechanically carry the disease from one horse to another, and unsterilized medical instruments or blood transfusions can also put equine at risk. (Mosquitoes are not capable of spreading EIA.) Like some other viral diseases, EIA can strike as an acute infection, in which the animal becomes very ill and dies. At the other extreme are infected equine that show no signs of being ill, but test positive for the disease. These equine pose a threat, as no one suspects the animal has a health problem, even though it is a reservoir for disease.

"Our 12 governor-appointed commissioners have proposed regulations that will bring us in line with the new change-of-ownership testing law and clarify conditions for selling equine to slaughter without a test," said Dr. Terry Beals.

"The commissioners have struggled with the question of the untested equine moving through a market to slaughter," he said. "At this point, they are against it. However, until their final vote is cast and regulations are adopted, we recommend that markets require a test for all horses, even if they are expected to be sold for slaughter. If, however, the markets elect to sell untested equine to slaughter, the animals will be allowed to move only to the plant under a restricted permit, known as a VS 1-27, issued by a TAHC inspector or veterinarian."

"The commissioners will address the proposals and may adopt them as regulations at their mid-September meeting in Austin. The law, however, will be in effect September 1, requiring that the equine have an EIA test within the past 12 months. The person transferring the ownership is responsible for having the equine tested, whether the animal is traded or sold at a public auction or private sale, or is just given away."

TAHC commissioners, each of which represent the public or a segment of the livestock industry, have proposed the following:

• Foals that are nursing and are less than 8 months old would be exempt from EIA testing, if they undergo change of ownership with their dam. The mare, however, must have tested negative for EIA within the previous 12 months.
• Zebras would be exempt from the change-of-ownership testing rule.
• If an equine is not tested, it could be sold only direct to a slaughter plant, where a blood sample would be collected for testing at state expense.

"After the USDA establishes guidelines, some horse markets may set up 'off-site' laboratories, to expedite EIA testing just prior to the sale," said Dr. Beals. "Thanks to new technology, test results can be available in only a few hours. To prevent disappointment, sellers should call ahead before hauling an untested horse to a market."

If an equine tests positive at the market lab, the owner may elect to have the animal tested again. After a second blood sample is collected and sent to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, the animal is to be taken home, under a restricted movement permit, issued by a TAHC inspector. While awaiting test results, the equine in question, and all other equine on the premise of origin are to be quarantined.

"If the confirmation test is positive, this animal will be handled as any infected equine, according to TAHC regulations," said Dr. Beals. He explained that the animal would be permanently identified with the official "74A" on the upper left shoulder, unless the animal is euthanized immediately. Other equine on the premise would be considered as exposed to the disease and would remain under quarantine until tested negative for the disease at least 60 days after the infected animal is removed.

To help prevent the spread of disease, TAHC regulations require EIA-infected equine to be euthanized, sold for slaughter or sent to a research facility. If the animal must be kept, it is to remain permanently quarantined at least 200 yards from other equine. In l998, 370 equine tested positive for the disease in Texas.

"Infected equine will be allowed to move through the market to slaughter, as they are permanently identified with the 74-A brand and are inspected within 24 hours prior to entering the market," he said. As part of the inspection, the TAHC or USDA-accredited veterinarian will ensure that the animal has no clinical signs of the disease and has a normal temperature. The animal will move under the VS 1-27 permit and must remain isolated under a roof at the market, and remain on the premises no longer than 24 hours.

"Other aspects of the EIA regulations will not change," explained Dr. Beals. A negative EIA test within the previous 12 months is required for equine transported to events, races, trail rides, assemblies, or other gatherings, where they will commingle with other equine. The EIA test document, called a VS 10-11, is adequate proof of testing. Equine used exclusively for ranch work are exempt from EIA tests, unless they are undergoing change of ownership.